Labour officials visit Foxconn factory over reports that they don’t hire married women

Indian labour officials reportedly paid a visit to Apple supplier Foxconn’s factory this week over reports that it has been rejecting married women from iPhone assembly jobs. A five-member team of the government’s regional labour department visited the Foxconn factory near Chennai in Tamil Nadu on July 1. 

According to a report in Reuters, the officials spoke to the company directors and human resources officials, as confirmed to the news agency by regional labour commissioner A Narasaiah. The officials also questioned the executives about the hiring practices in the company. 

This comes after the Modi government asked the Regional Chief Labour Commissioner to provide detailed reports on the matter. 

Narasaiah said, "We are collecting information, and have asked the company to submit documents like company policies, recruitment policies" along with evidence of compliance with labour laws and information on maternity and recruitment benefits, as mentioned in the report. Narasaiah said that they were informed that there was no discrimination in the company. 

The investigation comes after an investigative report by Reuters revealed that Foxconn systematically excluded married women from the women from assembly jobs at its main iPhone plant in India. They have cited reasons including more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts. Foxconn HR sources and third-party hiring agents cited family duties, pregnancy and higher absenteeism as reasons for not hiring married women.

The official said that Foxconn factory employs 41,281 people, including 33,360 women, of which some 2,750, or about 8 per cent, are married. The official said that the labour inspectors interviewed 40 married women inside the plant who raised no concerns about discrimination.